04 June 2011

The Untried Diaries: China Glaze Hot Apple

Welcome to the weekend, everyone! Anyone got great plans? I'm out hunting for some CND polishes this morning (I'm so in love with the effects polish that I just have to temporarily lift my ban), then gym, chores, etc. Hoping to get out and go hike one of the beautiful trails in the Southland tomorrow - we shall see!

I decided to switch up my polish for this weekend, but had no clue what I wanted to try next. Being the tech nerd I am, I went to random.org in order to use their random number generator to pick a polish from my collection to try out! LOL! The generator gave me a number... and I'd already tried the polish. Picked another number... and I'd already tried the polish. This (surprisingly) happened a few more times before I landed on a polish I hadn't tried before. I started to pull it out, but then realized I'd much rather try out China Glaze Hot Apple, and so here we are at the next entry in The Untried Diaries.

Hot Apple is a bright tomato red jelly polish. Quick education session: a creme polish is a polish with no glitter, shimmer, etc. - just the pure color with no added fixin's. A jelly polish is like a creme but is more sheer, almost like looking at jello or jelly (hence the name) and have a higher gloss finish than a creme. Hot Apple applied very easily in two coats and minimal VNL (but a little on a few fingers). Take a look (two coats, no top coat):

I really liked this polish. I normally do not wear reds, and this is only the second red that I have been excited about. (The first was OPI Vodka & Caviar, which is also a tomato red jelly polish. Hmmm...)

To spice up the polish, I added one coat of Nubar 2010. I always struggle with glitters, as I think they just never class you up, but can make you seem young/immature. 2010 though is not a glitter - it's what we call a 'flakie'. While most think of glitters as micro, flakies use a larger reflective flake to show a rainbow of colors; they can be worn over a nude nail or layered over a polish. Not sure if that description helps at all, so take a look:

And a close-up of the 2010 flakies:

This is not the best pairing of 2010, as the reflective flakies tend to dominantly reflect orange and this is a red polish - not a lot of contrast. However, over a blue or green or potentially nude color polish, the reflective flakes would stand out even more.

In any case, both polishes are keepers! I loved the creme formula of the Hot Apple, and application was breezy easy (especially after dealing with streak-master that is essie), and the 2010 adds texture and depth to any polish, making any regular creme or jelly bling without feeling too high school.

Hot Apple is discontinued but is still available online, or you can always pick my favorite option and go hunting for it at local beauty supply stores and salons. Hey Sailor from the recent CG Anchors Away collection may be a dupe (and is easily available), but I'm not sure as I don't have a bottle to compare. 2010 is still available and can be purchased at bynubar.com.

What do you think? Do you like these tomato red polishes, or do you go for reds with a more blue coloring? And how do you feel about bling nails - totally okay, or more a trend for the young'ins?